Greece’s largest banks eye Proton capital boost

Greece's four largest banks are likely to participate in smaller rival Proton Bank's capital boost, the country's central bank said on Friday.
The move would help keep Proton afloat after the bank disclosed earlier this month that it was under investigation by the central bank for possible violations of the country's money-laundering laws related to transactions of its main shareholder.
"National Bank , Eurobank , Alpha Bank and Piraeus Bank decided to respond positively to Proton Bank's proposal," the Bank of Greece said in a statement.
"They are looking positively into taking part in the bank's share capital increase which has been already decided."
Proton, with a network of 31 branches and a current market value of 20.7 mln euros, plans a 50 mln euro ($72 mln) convertible bond issue to boost its capital base, the central bank said.
"At a time of weakness at Proton, the four big players decided to support it to avoid sparking worries in the banking system," said Takis Zamanis, chief trader at Beta Securities.
Greek banks, troubled with rising provisions for impaired loans and shut out of wholesale funding markets, have been urged by Greek authorities to explore tie ups to better cope with the country's debt crisis.
Small Greek lender Attica Bank earlier in the month expressed interest in merging with Proton. .
The Bank of Greece said Proton's new board, which includes a central bank representative, would look at all strategic cooperation options as soon as possible.